1ST BIRTHDAY PHOTOS & CAKE SMASH PHOTOGRAPHY

Our babies develop so much during their first year, and by the time their first birthdays come around they are full of expressions and movement. 1st birthday photoshoots are the perfect way of celebrating the end of that first year of parenting. These photoshoots are especially popular as they of course our babies don’t remember parties at this age, but will have the memento of an album or framed prints to look back on in years to come.

These cake smash & splash session (sometimes called smash-the-cake sessions), last a lively 1-2 hours, in my purpose-designed East London photography studio. (Luckily for you, that means you leave the all the mess behind when the photoshoot is over).

The sessions comprise of 3 parts to give you a wide variety of images in your final gallery: some portraits taken before the cake comes out, with various birthday props; the cakesmash itself - the messy destruction of a birthday cake; and then images of your baby splashing about in a tub of warm, shallow water and bubbles to help clean the cake off. This last part tends to be a favourite with the babies. 

My family-friendly studio is the perfect environment for these sessions as it has all the facilities we need for the session and cleaning up afterwards.

I have a huge variety of birthday decorations, props and outfits which I use to design a theme to your tastes. When we chat, we’ll go through decor options, how to prepare, what to wear, birthday heme ideas and how to pick the perfect cakesmash cake. As a fruity alternative I also offer a watermelon smash which is just perfect if you prefer to keep your baby off cake a little while longer.

Families often choose to do these sessions on or around baby’s actual birthday and then create an album or wall art to proudly display this memory of baby’s first year. Get in touch or text BIRTHDAY to 07720885528 / WhatsApp to check availability and discuss options for your little one’s 1st birthday photography session.

In addition to studio birthday shoots, I also capture key moments at birthday parties for kids of all ages. Get in touch for more details and to see sample images.

Part 1: Pre cakesmash themed portraits of baby

The cakesmash & splash session includes birthday themed photos of your baby before the cake comes out. I have a variety of different props in the studio which we use to complement your chosen set, and I always welcome you to bring along any particularly sentimental items like cuddly bears, favourite toys, or a special outfit you’d like to keep a memory of in your photographs.

Part 2: Getting messy with the cake

Once we’ve finished the pre-cake portraits, we may get baby changed (if we want to save the outfit from the Part 1), and then we’ll encourage baby to start playing with and eating their cake. Before your session I’ll give you lots of tips on how to prepare your baby for what is often their first taste of cake.

Part 3: Splash time

Once your baby has had their fill of cake, we move on to splash time in a tub of warm water and bubbles (also known as “operation clean-up” ;-)). Most babies adore this part, playing with the bubbles, rubber ducks, peek-a-boo with a hooded towel, and generally splashing about in the warm water. Again I have a variety of different tubs for us to pick from for your session, so we can match the tub to the theme. I also have a number of bathtubs big enough for twins cakesmash sessions.

At the end of the session, I have everything you need to get baby clean and dry and I’ll prep you on what to bring from home too.

How much does a cake smash session cost?

After the session, I review all the images taken, select a shortlist of around 40 of the best and most varied images, which I will then edit and invite you to view at your gallery ordering and viewing session a couple of weeks later. At this session you can pick which images you would like to purchase and keep and what format you would like your images in. Most families spend around £850-£1200 on their digital images and wall art/album; prices start from £450.

Pricing works in two parts:

There’s a session booking fee of £150 that covers everything up to & including the session itself (e.g. use of my decorations, props and outfits), but does not include the cake itself (for allergy & insurance reasons) and the edited images/printed products. This is taken at the time of your booking to secure your chosen date.

At the viewing session there are three are three packages available to pick from; and of course you can add additional digital images to the “A Taster” or “Your Favourite Ten” packages if you wish to:

“A Taster”: 5 digital images of your choice - £300

”Your Favourite Ten”: 10 digital images of your choice plus £50 voucher towards any printed product you would like to purchase from my range - £500

“The Complete Works”: All your edited digitals images (typically 40), plus a video slide show of the images, and £100 print voucher - £700


You can spend your voucher on any of my printed items including fine art prints (to frame yourself) from £40, wall art from £180, luxury albums from £550. You can also get additional edited digital files at £40 per image.

Want to know more? I’ve a number of useful blogs with details on decorations, cakes, outfits and prep which you might like to read.

Ready to find out more? Get in touch

Get in touch by email, text BIRTHDAY to 07720885528 or send me a WhatsApp message to check availability and discuss options for your little one’s cakesmash photography session.